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Sunday, June 28, 2009

Fox News Makes Me Feel Ill

I have taken the weekend off to work on another project (that will likely never be finished, but it is nice to dream), so there hasn't been a lot of activity around here. One thing that The Barefoot Bum pointed out yesterday, though, that ought to get more coverage (and outrage) than it has is Fox News arguing successfully for the legal right to lie. Yes, freedom of speech is important, but so is consumer protection. It is not within a food manufacturer's rights for free speech to print, "Lead free!" on contaminated food, so why is it any different for a news broadcaster?

I have tended to try and laugh off my abhorrence for Fox News by, for example, looking them up on Conservapedia, but this is really hard to laugh at. The more I think about it, the more I want to let loose with a tirade of vitriolic invectives (and even coming up with fancy ways of saying I want to swear and curse can only distract me so much), so I think I'm going to have to end this post here.

3 comments:

Paul Natsuo Kishimoto said...

Excellent self-restraint!

Fox thrives on the indignant spluttering of liberals. Better to keep one's peace.

Assaf said...

There's always something creepy about watching the big news stations. All the news anchors look the same, like some humanoid robots. I feel particularly uneasy about their "friendly" attitudes, coupled with their frozen grins.

I don't think dishonesty is reserved solely for Fox News. Every station is subject to the same pressure to produce ratings. It's not as if Fox employees are special. If you're a liberal, you should be twice as worried about the "liberal" stations. As the proverb goes, "god save me from my friends. I can protect myself from my enemies."

Mozglubov said...

Well, yes, that is true - it is easier to spot false statements made from an ideological standpoint contrary to one's own. That does not mean, however, that all networks lie equally as greatly or equally as often, nor does it mean we should not strive to eliminate the dissemination of falsehoods.